text:
Google Announces Pixel 8 Smartphones and Pixel Watch 2 Smartwatches in October Event
Following Apple’s footsteps, Google has revealed the date for its upcoming fall product presentation. The event, where the company is set to unveil its latest offerings, is scheduled for October 6th.
According to the invitations being sent out to users, the event will take place in the United States on October 4th, just a month away from now.
During the presentation, Google will introduce its new flagship smartphone lineup, consisting of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. These devices are expected to come with redesigned aesthetics, a new proprietary processor, improved camera systems, and enhanced battery life.
Additionally, Google is set to showcase the Pixel Watch 2 smartwatches. These smartwatches are anticipated to feature the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 or Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip and will come equipped with new and improved functionalities.
The announcements align with the tech industry’s fall tradition of unveiling new products, and Google’s event promises to provide enthusiasts with insights into the company’s latest innovations.
- I'm Martin Harris, a tech writer with extensive experience, contributing to global publications. Trained in Computer Science, I merged my technical know-how with writing, becoming a technology journalist. I've covered diverse topics like AI and consumer electronics, contributing to top tech platforms. I participate in tech events for knowledge updating. Besides writing, I enjoy reading, photography, and aim to clarify technology's complexities to readers.
- Unusual04/11/2023Japanese Scientists Develop Durable, Self-Healing, Biodegradable Plastic
- Blockchain03/11/2023Telegram’s TON Becomes World’s Fastest Blockchain, Outpaces Visa and MasterCard
- Internet27/10/2023Google Search Now Provides Source Data for Images
- Business26/10/2023Honor Leads Chinese Smartphone Market as vivo Falters, Apple Reclaims Top Three


text:
India ranks number one in shoplifting and designer garments top the list of things stolen. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo discovers how shoplifters unnerve boutique owners
Agencies selling CCTV cameras and anti-theft devices have been doing brisk business in the country and the reasons are obvious. We knew that shop owners are always wary of shoplifters but here's the shocker: The findings of the Global Retail Theft Barometer 2009 (conducted by Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham, UK), which studied shoplifting patterns in 41 countries, revealed that India topped retail shrinkage with 3.2 per cent of sales. Retail shrinkage, in simple terms, refers to retail loss due to shoplifting, theft by employees, accounting errors and supplier fraud. The study found that 45.2 per cent of retail shrinkage in India was due to shoplifting and 23.2 per cent was due to theft by employees.
Interestingly, it's not just the malls but also high-end boutiques that face the brunt. The shoplifters in this case are seemingly ‘well-heeled' women. Designer Kedar Maddula of Wundershop recalls how two women left him stumped: “Two well-dressed women, flaunting fake Gucci bags, walked into the store. Pretending to look through the clothes, they took some pieces off the hangers and went into the trial room. In the process, they stuffed a few garments into their bags and slipped away. I realised it much later.” The incident was an eye opener for him and his staff.
The two women didn't call it a day. They then walked to the designer store run by Sagar Tenali next door and made away with heavily embroidered saris. “They distracted our attention and took the clothes. The incident made us more alert and we never leave customers unattended,” says Sagar.
Shop owners, as a practice, check their inventory on a daily or weekly basis to discover the gap between the stocks and the sales. The shortage is written off as losses but the truth, obviously, lies elsewhere. With time, shop owners have studied the modus operandi of shoplifters. Sarvamangala of Anagha recalls, “In July 2008 there was a major instance when we lost 12 tussar silk saris costing approximately Rs. 40,000. That is when I decided to get an anti theft device installed.” She observes that the women came in pairs, in short intervals, and while the store staff members were attending to some of them, others slipped a few saris into their bags. Some among the group carried on the ‘buyer' act until the actual shoplifters left the store.
“Shoplifting is an organised profession in the twin cities. I have been witness to it in the last 16 years of my experience in retail. The same gang doesn't visit the same store a second time,” adds Sarvamangala.
Designers who have boutiques in their residence have also not been spared. Ishita Singh says, “A lady once walked away with a kurti before I could realise. Imagine all this happening at my boutique that is right inside my house!”
What else did Global Retail Theft Barometer 2009 reveal?
The most stolen retail merchandise included high-end cosmetics, designer garments for women, perfumes, smaller gadgets, video games, DVDs and accessories. Among these, the retail shrinkage of designer apparels and accessories was the highest.

domain: news


text:
MasterTag Partners with Clarity Connect
Clarity Connect, Inc. (CCI) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to develop a new, interactive Web site for MasterTag, Inc.
Clarity Connect, Inc. (CCI) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to develop a new, interactive Web site for MasterTag, Inc. The new site will be maintained by MasterTag utilizing several Clarity Console content management tools.
The new site will incorporate the MasterTag Label Creator application that allows customers to select various plant tag options and submit orders online.
Commenting on the selection of CCI, Gerry Giorgio, Creative Director, MasterTag said, “We worked with Clarity Connect in the past to jointly provide merchandising solutions for companies such as Walter’s Gardens and Grow Native!, a program of the Missouri Department of Conservation. When it was time to select our Web site developer, CCI was an easy choice. They know the industry, and their Web site content management tools make it easy for our marketing staff to maintain our site. CCI’s project management system and methodology are first rate.”
“We are very pleased to be working with MasterTag. Over the past two years, Clarity Connect has worked very hard to become the leading supplier of integrated marketing solutions to the horticulture marketplace. Adding MasterTag to our client list helps solidify our position,” stated Timothy Howard, president, of CCI.


text:
Cattaraugus County charities will benefit from a holiday season partnership among the Buffalo Sabres, Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency, Chamber of Commerce of Olean and Vicinity Inc., and Salamanca Chamber of Commerce.
The Sabres this week made available 2,000 tickets to CCIDA, which is in turn selling them to local businesses, organizations and the two chambers at $5 apiece.
The tickets are for the Carolina Hurricanes game in Marine Midland Arena Dec. 19. Proceeds generated in the collaboration will benefit local charities, to be selected for funding by the Sabres and CCIDA.
"The IDA is going to the chambers and major businesses and selling them blocks of 50 to give to employees or vendors. The deal is these are $5 tickets to give to employees as bonus, to say thank you. The business pays the IDA for them," said CCIDA spokeswoman Cheryl L. Adams.
In addition, the two chambers are selling the tickets to individuals or small groups at the $5 rate, she said. The Olean chamber, which had reserved 300 seats by Thursday afternoon, is offering bus transportation for ticket holders at a cost of $15.
Mrs. Adams said each block of 50 tickets includes a mixture of seats, some in the "bowl" area near the ice, which are valued at $36, and others of lesser value in other sections of the arena.
As of Friday, the CCIDA had reserved 1,200 tickets for local businesses, she said. The Olean chamber will distribute 300 tickets and the Salamanca chamber hopes to sell 50. Both organizations are expected to place more orders in the coming weeks.
The Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce and the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce both declined to take part in the effort.
Non-profit groups who wish to be considered in the distribution of proceeds should contact the CCIDA at 699-2005.


text:
In years past, XM and Sirius had several product announcements and exciting press conferences at this show. This year, there’s no press conferences, they’re spending less money on signage here and not talking much about their proposed merger, except to say they hope the feds approve it.
XM annually displays a concept car that is filled with ideas its R&D teams are exploring with the hope of bringing some of them to market. This year, the company is giving some reporters a sneak peak at such a car containing technology it’s planning to unveil at the North American Auto Show in Detroit next week.
Inside the SUV is XM NavWeather, its first weather service for consumers. XM plans to announce the first auto partners to offer the service early this year. The weather will be bundled with XM’s real-time traffic service.
XM will transmit data services as well as audio. The version I saw included the ability to download local gas prices to the navigation touch screen in the dash.
Audiovox, Directed Electronics, Audio Design Associates and Samsung have introduced XM products at CES.
Sirius has a booth this year, unlike last year; and it also again shares space with Directed Electronics. Directed, as well as Audio Design Associates and Sunfire have introduced Sirius products at this show.
The satcaster is not announcing any of its own branded products here; it again displays Sirius Backseat TV in an SUV. The service is available for $6.99 a month in addition to a Sirius subscription of $12.95 per month. Users will also need a video monitor or entertainment system sold separately. A spokeswoman pegged availability in Q1.


text:
Trade with the EU is important, but is in relative decline
Date: 6th June 2016Trade with the EU is important, but is in relative decline
In this Perspective Ruth Lea, Economic Adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, discusses the UK’s trade with the EU and includes updates on the UK, the US and Greece.
On trade with the EU, the main points are:
• The EU share of UK exports is in secular decline.
• The goods share is falling and, whilst the services share is not falling so markedly, services are weighted towards non-EU markets and growing faster than goods, thus pulling down the overall EU share of goods and services.
• Using the conventional trade accounts, the EU exports to GDP ratio was about 12% in 2015, but on a trade in value added basis it could be as low as 9-10%.
• Given the UK’s huge trade deficit with the EU, the overall impact on GDP is negative. The overall impact of non-EU trade is positive.
• The UK runs substantial goods deficits with the EU in finished manufactures (including cars), in semi-manufactures and in food and related products (including wine).
• The UK runs surpluses in services with both the EU (20% of the total) and the non-EU (80% of the total, of which the USA was 30%).
Other points to note are:
• Recently released UK economic data suggest growth is slowing in 2016Q2, possibly reflecting uncertainty ahead of the EU referendum (23 June).
• Recently US data have been mixed. But, given the very weak labour report (May), it is unlikely the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will raises rates at the forthcoming meeting (14-15 June).
• The recent Eurogroup meeting agreed to the next tranche (€10.3bn) of bailout funds for Greece.
Ruth Lea said, “Of course, exports to the EU are important. But the EU share of UK exports had fallen to below 44% by 2015, compared with 52% in 2004. Moreover, the share can only fall further given relatively stagnant EU markets and the increasing significance of services trade, which is weighted towards non-EU markets. This is not to dismiss the importance of EU markets, but to keep them in perspective.”
For full story: http://www.arbuthnotgroup.com/economic_perspectives_group.html
Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC:
Ruth Lea, Economic Adviser
07800 608 674, 020 8346 3482
Follow Ruth on Twitter @RuthLeaEcon
David Marshall, Director of Communications
020 7012 2432, 07502 285 835
Dan de Belder
020 3772 2561


text:
If you want to surprise your loved-ones with an individual, artisan Christmas gift this year, you can either visit your local Christmas market or you can go online and browse through millions of handcrafted items on platforms such as Etsy
. The latter operates what is probably the world’s largest marketplace for self-made jewelry, art and other goods, having sold merchandise worth $2.84 billion
For Etsy, as for most other retailers selling goods online or off, the holiday season is the most important time of the year. As our chart illustrates, the company’s fourth quarter revenue was 30 to 50 percent higher than the average revenue for the remaining three quarters in each of the past four years.
This year a little-known e-commerce company from Seattle is auditioning for the role of Etsy’s personal Grinch however. Having introduced
its own marketplace for artisan products, Handmade at Amazon, two years ago, the world’s largest online retailer threw the (holiday) gauntlet down at Etsy by adding Amazon Handmade products to its Prime Now
program until Christmas Eve. Last-minute gift shoppers will thus be able to have handmade items shipped within hours in 11 markets across the United States.


text: News6 Northeast CampusNorthwest CampusSoutheast CampusCurrently selectedSouthwest CampusDirections to Campuses OSTC Online / Campuses / Southeast Campus / News6 Page Body ContentMichigan Restaurant Association Food ShowThis year, twenty-four Culinary students participated in the annual Michigan Restaurant Association Food show. They assisted vendors and participants in showcasing their food products and restaurant wares. Students had an exciting opportunity to work with celebrity chefs during demonstrations, and they helped Michigan companies like GFS and Jiffy present to potential customers from all over the Midwest region. On Wednesday, students participated in the ProStart challenge, which is one of the connections to our state culinary curriculum, and on the last day, the students also helped Gleaners collect food staples donated by the participating companies for Forgotten Harvest, culminating the week with a rewarding community service project. Additionally, during this exciting week, OSTC-SE students were even able to showcase their hidden talents by modeling for the fashion show! This work-based experience was a great way to connect to many of our advisory members and learn more about industry expectations.


text:
With the economy struggling and people pinching pennies, the Massachusetts State Lottery has increased its estimate of an expected decline in ticket sales.
While the agency had said in October that it expected a 1.5 percent drop, or about $75 million, in sales, compared with the previous year, it now says it expects the drop to be 4 percent, or about $200 million.
Mark Cavanagh, the lottery's executive director, emphasized that fiscal 2008, which ended in July, was a record year for the Lottery, with the agency racking up $4.7 billion in sales.
He also said the agency is hoping that the outlook for fiscal 2009 will improve in the next few weeks. "The holidays are a big time for us, so we're hoping to make some of that back.... We've got high hopes," he said.
A big boost could come today. Sales are running about $2,000 per minute this afternoon, as customers buy chances on a $146 Mega Millions jackpot, which will be drawn tonight, he said.
Cavanagh said $3 million has already been cut out of the Lottery's operating budget, but it is still looking for savings.
"We're taking a serious look at what programs we think we can cut back on and not seriously impact sales. At some point, you start cutting your own appendages off and it becomes a downward spiral," he said.
Cavanagh said Lottery sales had been running ahead of fiscal 2008 until late September when the financial crisis hit.
He said the Lottery had estimated when the year began that it would turn over $903 million to assist cities and towns, but it is now looking at turning over $863 million.
I play Massachusetts lottery games by subscription which is very convenient. They don't have any residency restrictions and you can also buy subscriptions as gifts. If you live in a state without a lottery, or want to take a chance on another state lottery the Mass Lottery may be a good idea.


text:
In the past, Google had a lot of attempts to conquer the Asian market but every time, the company encountered important rivals that blocked its evolution. Today, the search giant makes another step for the Asian expansion by releasing Inside AdSense in Korean, a new blog able to bring the latest information and headlines concerning the advertising platform. The AdSense community is huge and the impressive number of customers from all around the world proves it. That's why it is very important for the search giant to keep them informed and up to date with the latest information concerning the product, as well as presenting them tips and tricks to enhance the results of AdSense.
"We're happy to introduce the newest member of the AdSense blog family -- Inside AdSense: AdSense Korean. Korean-speaking publishers can now look forward to reading the latest AdSense news and announcements in their own language. This new blog will also provide Korean-speaking publishers with localized case studies, answers to commonly asked questions, optimization tips, and posts from the Korean support team," the Korean AdSense blog team sustained in an article posted today.
This new release comes after only one week since the company introduced a new version of the Chinese blog with the same goals as the Korean AdSense: inform users about the latest news concerning the advertising platform.
As you surely know, both Internet giants Google and Yahoo tried to expand their products in the Asian market but every time, their attempts were denied by the Chinese leader, Baidu. Although the companies are struggling to increase their presence in Asia, they were rejected even by the local users. Take for example Google that discovered more than 300 fake agents that were continuously selling the company's products.


text:
The company cites SPINS data showing that it was the fastest-growing nutrition bar in the U.S. last year.
Nutrition bar brand That’s it., known for its streamlined, clean-label products like its two-ingredient Fruit Bars, says 2022 sales data from market researcher SPINS (Chicago) ranked That’s It. as the fastest-growing nutrition bar brand last year.
The company says SPINS data on sales in the U.S. mass-market and convenience channels for the 52 weeks ending December 4, 2022, showed That’s it. “beating out brands like KIND Snacks, CLIF Bar, Larabar, and RXBAR, and outpacing the growth of the category nationally by more than 7x.”
That’s it. bars are sold by national retailers like Sam’s Club, Costco, Walmart, and Target. In a press release, company founder and CEO Lior Lewensztain said, “We’re especially thrilled with this recognition after a year marked by challenges for the food and beverage industry such as changing consumer behaviors and ongoing inflation concerns. Much of our success this year can be attributed to our ability to weather the inflation storm by accelerating growth in the club channel, where we can provide greater value to consumers by shifting focus from single fruit bars to value-heavy multipacks at a time when rising costs are front and center to consumers.”
That’s it. also ranked on Instacart’s list of Fastest-Growing Emerging Brands 2022. According to Instacart, it “leveraged sales velocity metrics to identify the 75 fastest-growing emerging brands of 2022 on Instacart.” This list, the Instacart noted, comprises brands that were able to “break into a crowded industry, find the right audience, improve awareness, and grow their distribution.”


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Ups & Downs
Send this story to a friend
- Staff Milwaukee Business Journal
More good news for Schlitz Park as the business park’s owners revealed last week that it is in discussions to bring a new office tenant and 250 jobs to a 150,000-square-foot building it plans to renovate for $25 million near downtown Milwaukee. The company would anchor Schlitz Park’s Executive Building, which is to be renovated in the third phase of upgrades to the 45-acre Milwaukee business park. Last week, news emerged of a different business that would bring 260 workers to the park’s RiverCenter Building by August. That company would come from outside the Milwaukee area. Gary Grunau, president of Brewery Works Inc., declined to name the tenant for the Executive Building, but said the company already is located near Milwaukee.
A happy ending for the former Golden Guernsey Dairy plant in Waukesha as its new owner, Lifeway Foods Inc., announced last week that it plans to reopen the plant this summer and “rehire a portion of the work force to staff the facility.” Lifeway, a Morton Grove, Ill.-based supplier of Kefir cultured dairy products, placed the winning bid May 14 for bankrupt Golden Guernsey in a federal court auction. It won with a $7.4 million bid, edging stalking-horse bidder, Ohio-based LEL Operating Co., by just $100,000. The addition of the 170,000-square-foot Waukesha plant to Lifeway’s existing 50,000-square-foot facility in Morton Grove will more than quadruple the company’s production capacity.
It was a tough spring for Kohl’s Corp. as the Menomonee Falls retailer reported a drop in sales and earnings in the first quarter. Comparable-store sales dropped 1.9 percent for the quarter ending May 4. Total sales dropped 1 percent to $4.2 billion over the same period last year. Net income dropped 4 percent to $147 million, but because of share buybacks, earnings per share rose from 63 cents to 66 cents. The cold spring has caused problems for many clothing retailers so far this year. And in a break from previous years, Kohl’s didn’t make CEO Kevin Mansell available to reporters after its annual meeting last week to answer questions on Kohl’s performance.
- Most popular
- Anheuser-Busch InBev seeks financing for SABMiller purchase
- Milwaukee area's most troubled banks
- Falk microbrewery, housing project could revive historic brewery site
- 411 building's new owner unveils extensive renovation plans: Slideshow
- Sears store at Bayshore will close in December
- Pabst Brewing Co. sold, and won't be coming back to Milwaukee
- Zilber firm pushes for Wisconsin Avenue site for downtown arena
- Grunau touts Park East, Bradley Center as arena sites, dismisses
- Meeting Oprah Winfrey — briefly
- Decision on Milwaukee streetcar has communities railing on each other
Financial Advisor Assistant Investors Advisory Group, LLC | Waukesha, WI
Marketing Communication Specialist Marshfield Clinic | Marshfield, WI
Business Consultant First Data | Milwaukee, WI
Purchaser Robert Half Finance & Accounting U.S | Milwaukee, WI
Accounts Receivable Clerk Accountemps | Oak Creek, WI


text:
A drizzle of negative news had already dampened investors’ ardour before this week’s earnings announcement. Apple bungled the introduction of its new mapping app, and there were rumours of cuts in component orders for the iPhone 5. But iBulls still expect sunshine this year: news of new gizmos that Apple has created and new markets it is set to disrupt.
Has Apple peaked?
The world’s most valuable firm may be past its prime
TECH blogs are abuzz. Pundits are busy pumping out predictions. The company that makes the new device that is attracting so much attention is teasing reporters by being coy about its innovative features. Apple’s product launches are always like this. But this time the fuss is not about an Apple product: it is about Samsung’s latest Galaxy smartphone, which is likely to be launched in March.
Stiffer competition in smartphones and tablets from the likes of Samsung has spooked investors in Apple. They got another fright on January 23rd when the firm revealed that its latest quarterly profit of $13 billion was flat because of higher manufacturing costs. That triggered a rout in after-hours trading: at one point some $57 billion was wiped off Apple’s market capitalisation, roughly the equivalent of the entire value of Ford, a carmaker.
Apple’s shares have been mauled by bears many times before (see chart 1), but they have always recovered. The big question on many investors’ minds is whether the firm can rebound again. Two things have whetted the bears’ appetites.
First, Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder and creative genius, is dead. The iPhones and iPads he sired still generate gargantuan profits. But his successor, Tim Cook, has yet to prove himself capable of bringing new breakthrough products to market. Second, Apple’s fantastic profit margins—38.6% on sales of $55 billion—attract competitors like sweetshops attract six-year-olds.
The company’s fans pooh-pooh the idea that Apple has peaked. The firm’s price-earnings ratio—11.6 at close of business on January 23rd—is not much different from Microsoft’s (see chart 2). That makes Apple’s shares look relatively sexy. Unlike Microsoft, which depends heavily on the ailing personal-computer business, Apple concentrates on sectors that are growing fast, such as smartphones and tablets. Only one of 60 analysts tracked by Bloomberg had a “sell” recommendation on Apple before this week’s stockmarket fallout.
One of those gadgets is likely to be a much cheaper iPhone aimed at emerging markets. In China, where some men have reportedly been dumped for failing to buy their girlfriends iPhone 5s, Apple sold 2m of its top-of-the-range devices over its launch weekend last month. However, most Chinese shoppers can’t afford the things. Barclays, an investment bank, reckons Apple could produce an iPhone for less than $150 to broaden its appeal.
The firm has played down reports of a cheaper iPhone, but Apple-watchers expect an announcement this year. Slimmer profit margins in China and India may be worth it to woo millions of new buyers. Apple is said to be close to a distribution agreement with China Mobile, a carrier with a hefty 700m subscribers. News of a deal may boost Apple’s shares.
Yet the best way for the company to prove it is not past its prime would be for it to disrupt another big market. Since Jobs’s death in 2011 Apple has concentrated on sprucing up its existing products. Now investors want to see it conjure up entirely new ones. All eyes are on television (though Apple is also exploring the potential of other markets, such as wearable computing: see article). Mr Cook says television is an area of “intense interest”. He told interviewers that when he switches on the TV in his living room, he feels like he has “gone backwards in time by 20 or 30 years.” This fuels expectations that Apple will launch an iTV later this year.
Sceptics point out that plenty of elegant, wafer-thin screens are already on sale. Moreover, Apple’s existing set-top box, which lets users play content from iTunes, Netflix and other services on their TVs, has not been a stunning success. But this misses the—so to speak—bigger picture. The iTV, which may be controlled via gestures and voice commands as well as via iPads and iPhones, could be a digital hub for the home. It would let people check whether their washing machine has finished its cycle while they gossip on Facebook and watch their favourite soap. Peter Misek of Jefferies, an investment bank, says sales of it should also boost purchases of iPads and other Apple gear, as more people get sucked into the firm’s “ecosystem” of linked devices and software.
But the iTV is no surefire blockbuster. For one thing, persuading cable and broadcast outfits to make programming available over the internet on demand will be tricky. They have already seen how such a model crushed music companies. For another, iTVs are likely to be pretty expensive, limiting their mass-market appeal.
Apple will also, as usual, face stiff competition from Samsung. The South Korean firm is one of several that already sell smart TVs. Indeed, Samsung seems to be churning out more and more groundbreaking devices while Apple has produced only incremental innovations of late. Apple’s court battles with Samsung over smartphone patents have reinforced the impression that it is on the defensive.
However, Horace Dediu of Asymco, a research firm, says it would be a mistake to think Apple is resting on its laurels. He notes that its capital expenditure has soared in recent quarters, reaching levels typically seen at firms with huge manufacturing operations, such as Intel (see chart 3). Some of this money is going into data centres to support cloud services like iTunes. But Mr Dediu reckons much of it is being spent on dedicated production equipment at suppliers. This could give Apple an edge in producing new gadgets.
Yet even if it produces a cheaper iPhone, pushes deep into China and wows the world with a smart TV, its shares will not reconquer last year’s peak. Competition is now tougher in its core markets. Rivals will not let it disrupt new ones so easily. Apple may dip into its $137 billion cash lake to boost its share price by paying fatter dividends or buying back more stock. That would delight some investors, but others would see it as a tacit admission that the firm’s great innovation engine has stalled. Apple won’t crumble, but it has peaked.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Has Apple peaked?"
From the January 26th 2013 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
A strangely pervasive custom of odd poses and forced smiles
The pioneering e-commerce giant battles soaring costs and a stagnating legacy business
Languishing Silicon Valley stocks attract Wall Street’s mischief-makers


text:
Ho replaced the traditional Nokia, Motorola and Japanese models with the newest iPhone and accessories. At its peak, some 80 per cent of what he sold were iPhone-related products and half his customers were from the mainland.
The thriving business, however, declined sharply in the past two years, especially after the implementation of the new Competition Ordinance, which seeks to prohibit unfair business practices such as price fixing and bid rigging.
Ho said big electronic chains such as Broadway were able to offer much lower retail prices, prompting smaller operators to follow suit. For example, the profit for a brand new iPhone decreased from about HK$300 to just HK$100.
"The business needs to be diversified," Ho said, adding the shop now also provides repair and data transfer services.
Another retailer, Sky Cheung, said he was thinking about quitting the business. He said the profit he made from iPhones was down from about HK$2,000 to a few dozen dollars.
"It doesn't make sense for me to keep on," he said.
The slump has also hit the real estate sector. A property agent at the plaza told the Post that about 15 percent of the shops on the second and third floors were empty, and the rest had had their rent cut by a third.
However, beside the factors unique to Hong Kong, the sale of iPhones seems to be losing momentum worldwide amid fiercer competition.
Apple reported its first decline in annual sales and profits in 15 years for the year ending last September, with iPhone sales down by 5 per cent in the fourth fiscal quarter.
"From a consumer point of view, the iPhone definitely transformed the smartphone market with its touch screen and user-friendly interface compared with the old [personal digital assistants] with a pen or devices with a button keyboard," CLSA senior analyst Mariana Kou noted.
Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


text:
Cars Like Tesla are Becoming More Popular in Columbus, Ohio
For a very long time, cars have been one of the primary sources of pollution and rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The emissions they produce by burning gasoline produced by fossils have been depleting fast as the nearly two centuries cars have been around for have been operating on. However, there is a possibility that cars have been changing for the better within the past couple decades. As early as the 2000s, many corporations and other big users of fossil fuels have been forced to the startling realization that the ice caps are melting, the climate is changing and the greenhouse emissions continue to pollute the atmosphere. With the realization that this mostly comes from cars, there have been many attempts within the past two decades to switch cars to something that ultimately will be more self-sustaining. From sources of alternative fuel to self-driving cars and everything in between, it’s very possible that the next steps for Columbus, Ohio cars will potentially be more beneficial for an environment that is already ailing.
One of the most popular alternative fuel vehicles that has become popular in recent years are electric cars. Called battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, these cars run on electricity that is circulated through a system of batteries. Attempts at building these vehicles came as early as the 1950s, but became popularized as early as the 2000s. Electric cars have become increasingly mainstream as the way these cars are created and powered has been perfected. From Tesla to General Motors to Chevrolet and everything in between, auto dealers have been getting more electric cars that charge by being plugged in - and are considered much better for the environment. In studies conducted by those looking at regular versus electric cars, it was deemed that electric cars emit much less gases than gasoline cars. Though the number is not exactly zero, it is lower than most cars running on gasoline and therefore much more sustainable, which feeds into the popularity of these cars. A big factor preventing more people from getting these cars, though, is the cost - most electric cars have costs somewhere on the order of $30,000 to $40,000 for either a lease or a purchase. In the earlier 2000s when electric cars were still an overall rarity, the price of these environmentally friendly cars would be upwards of $50,000 and perhaps even higher. Thankfully, as time goes on, these cars will continue to be more readily available to consumers as the formula for creating electric cars is perfected.
Improvements Being Made with Solar Panels
Aside from gasoline, another promising form of alternative energy for vehicles is solar energy. Wind and solar energy have already become an integral part of how energy is generated in the modern day world of industry, with solar panels and wind turbines already taking up a considerable amount of land in the United States. However, there are some cars and other vehicles attempting to make more widespread use of these concepts. Originally presented at the 2005 World Solar Challenge, the Trev, a two seater renewable energy vehicle, runs entirely on solar energy and was presented by the students of the University of South Australia. The prototype of this vehicle is a two-person commuter car with three wheels that solely runs on solar power. The battery can last over 250,000 kilometers at full power, which is the equivalent of almost a single gasoline car’s entire mileage. The prototype car also boasts an impressive top speed of about 75 miles an hour, which is perfect for highway drives and commutes to work, and is projected to have less than a tenth of the cost of running a small petroleum car. Although cars like this one still have not been perfected, it is very possible in the future that more cars can run on solar power similar to this one.
Aside from cars being more environmentally friendly in ways of using alternative fuel, creating more ways for people to travel results in cars that run on electricity or other means of energy adopting self-driving. Take for example, Tesla cars, which run on battery power. Columbus, Ohio Tesla vehicles are equipped with Autopilot software, which takes many automatic functions of modern cars and puts them to an entirely different level, closer to being entirely autonomous than anything before it. For a long time, self-driving cars have been something of scientific legend, and many endeavors of making cars almost completely autonomous have been hotly debated both on ethical and moral grounds. However, they are considered environmentally better in some aspects, being that many of them perform actions like turning corners, parking and merging lanes with more efficiency than human drivers, saving little bits of fuel and running better in some cases (self-driving cars with electric power versus gasoline).
With all of these new boons for the auto industry, it’s possible that cars are headed in the direction of being better for the environment than many cars have been for the past two hundred years. But it’s hard to tell whether or not this will ultimately benefit the environment in a way that will reduce the print that cars that burn gasoline have left on the earth.


text:
PS VR Spotlight returns today, with new reveals and updates on previously announced PS VR titles. We’ll be highlighting seven games in total, so keep your eyes on our channels starting at 8 AM PDT / 4 PM BST, with updates every half hour.
And as mentioned, this is all about the games. So to manage expectations, there will be no next-gen VR related news. But in the meantime, stay tuned right here to learn more about some of the amazing PS VR games launching soon!
PS VR Spotlight announcements


text:
Microsoft's online productivity suite will be available throughout the State University of New York education system, covering some 465,000 students.
Microsoft software-plus-services suite is headed to schools a little later this year, and at a discount from the company's version aimed at businesses.
Microsoft is fighting back at Google Apps with the launch of Office 365, a cloud-based version of its business software.
Software giant adds Office Web Apps to its bundle of hosted Exchange and SharePoint, and will offer traditional Office as a subscription service, renaming the broader product as Office 365.
The e-mail and communications server becomes the first of the 2010 wave of Office products to hit that milestone.
Microsoft has started beta testing of Exchange 2010, which includes conversation threading as well as the ability to ignore a particular discussion.
In a chat with Wall Street analysts, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirms that you'll have to wait until 2010 to get your hands on the next version of Office.
Microsoft embarks in a years' long redesign of its Web mail program only to find most of its users like things the way they are.


text: Due to rising sales for crossovers and other SUVs, other car segments like compact and midsize cars saw a decrease in sales. However, large luxury cars seemed to still be successful this past year. Specific models, like the Mercedes Benz S Class and the Porsche Panamera, are great for those who want full-size cars with impeccable interiors, space to sit comfortably, and the best technology. Crossovers and SUVs may be all the rage right now, but full-size luxury cars still boast sophistication and exclusivity. Perhaps that’s why this particular car segment had a sales increase of almost 3,200 units for 2018 over 2017, selling 80,044 units. These cars that were sold all have their unique features and performance levels and also have a stylish flair that customers loved. Here are 15 of the top-selling large luxury cars in America for 2018 (ranked by sales) and why they stand out from the pack.


text:
It seems that UK personality Katie Price (formerly known as Jordan) has done it all. And now the former glamour model plans to give a new meaning to “car bra” with the announcement that she’ll launch her own car brand, as you do.
The 33-year-old former “page three girl” has been a failed pop singer, an author and a reality TV star. She’s had two high-profile marriages – and subsequent divorces – including Australia’s six-packed singer, Peter Andre.
She’s also launched her own fashion label, and now, UK’s Paris Hilton has revealed plans to design and sell an “affordable” pink car.
While details of the bizarre car brand remain scarce, expect the car to adopt Henry Ford’s colour ethos of “any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”, or in Price’s case, pink.
"We haven't done a press launch yet so I can't say much about it yet, but it will be pink and black and affordable," she said at the launch of the new collection of her “Day 22” fashion line at the Pure London trade exhibition yesterday.
Price already owns a collection of custom pink-painted vehicles including a Bugatti Veyron supercar, a Range Rover, Volkswagen Beetle, a horse float and a 125cc scooter.
The $A1.6 million red Bugatti – one of only 300 of its type in the world – was sprayed pink last month at a reported cost of £80,000 ($A130,000) by luxury car customizer Project Kahn in North England.
It’s believed that Price also bought an expensive "F1" personalised registration plate for her pink Bugatti from Kahn Design’s owner, Afzal Kahn, who paid £440,000 ($A714,000) for it at an auction in 2008.
The garish colour won't be confined to the outside of the vehicle, with Price also planning a revamp of the interior. Among the modifications will be a pink leather steering wheel, pink alloys and a baby pink, Swarovski crystal-studded leather gear stick.
Price admits that her style isn't for everyone but she is proud of her collection. "It's very dodgy. What I wear myself is not really everyone's cup of tea is it?" she says.
With an estimated net worth reportedly in excess of £40 million ($A65m) it seems the old-fashion phrase “money can’t buy taste” still applies.


text:
The Bajaj Auto, country’s second-largest bike maker by volume, is rushing to put together export plans for its next generation RE60 or the Quadricycle, much ahead of its now delayed domestic launch which met with stiff opposition from the auto industry. Even as the fate of the domestic launch remains uncertain, the company is initiating a phased commercial launch in international markets by early 2014. It has begun testing out the Quadricycle in a few export destinations.
“There has been a change in plans. The Quadricycle will be launched in the export markets first. As we put together the export roadmap for the Quadricycle, it continues to be tested in a few markets,” informed a source at Bajaj Auto.
The commercial launch for the Quadricycle in Asia and the West Asia is scheduled to take place in February 2014 followed by a debut in the South American market in April 2014, informed the source. The company is testing out the Quadricycle in Sri Lanka and Egypt. It is readying the vehicle for testing purposes in Peru, South America, by February 2014, which is a left-hand driven market.
When asked for a comment, top company executives refused to give away details. “Most of these topics are premature and some of them are ‘confidential information’ at this stage,” said S Ravikumar, senior vice-president (business development & assurance), Bajaj Auto.
The company did not give away the volume numbers for the Quadricycle. Though Bajaj has a strong presence in international markets with exports accounting to over 40% of total sales, Africa accounts for the largest share by volume at 47%. It is relatively new in South America where it has already made inroads in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and aims to enter Brazil in 2015. The key export destinations for the Quadricycle though will be Europe, Latin America and Asia.
RE60 was unveiled in January 2012 at the auto expo in New Delhi. Though off-late the low-speed Quadricycle, which was scheduled to be launched in Gujarat and Maharashtra in October 2013, now waits for the final approvals from the Centre to commercially introduce the vehicle as leading auto companies continue to lobby against its launch. “The state government will have no objection to introduce the Quadricycle in Karnataka once the Centre gives the necessary approvals,” said a senior executive with the regional ministry of road transport and highways on condition of anonymity.


text:
Betfred set to beat Boylesports to Ladbrokes and Coral shops
Betfred is expected to beat rival bookmaker Boylesports to the purchase of 360 betting shops being sold off in the UK by Ladbrokes and Gala Coral.
The land-based sites have been made available in preparation for the pending merger between Ladbrokes and Coral, which will result in a combined company worth approximately £2.2 billion (€2.5 billion/$2.9 billion).
According to the Irish Independent newspaper, although Boylesports made a bid of €118 million earlier this year to acquire the shops, industry sources have said that Betfred is now the more likely to take ownership.
William Hill has also been linked with a possible bid for the land-based sites.
Earlier this month, Ladbrokes and Coral agreed to sell the shops in response to a demand from the UK Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), which had raised concerns over the planned merger.
The CMA said the deal could create competition concerns in 642 locations across the UK, and that the sale of shops would help even out competition.
Related article: Ladbrokes, Coral agree to shop sales ahead of proposed merger


text:
CINCINNATI, Jan. 3, 2018 (PRNewswire) — The Kroger Co. announced Wednesday the expansion of its Simple Truth brand and launch of its largest-ever Our Brands customer sales promotion, featuring savings on thousands of Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic items.
"We're proud of the high-quality ingredients that go into our Simple Truth products. We're equally proud of what's not in these foods. Simple Truth products are free from 101+ artificial preservatives and ingredients," said Robert Clark, Kroger's senior vice president of merchandising. "Instead of GMOs and antibiotics, Simple Truth offers clean labels and fantastic flavors. Kroger has led the way for more than a decade in making natural and organic products more mainstream and accessible. We've always believed that our customers shouldn't have to pay higher prices just because a product is natural or organic. The truth is, we've always been affordable."
Kroger introduced Simple Truth in its fourth quarter 2012, and the brand now offers over 1,400 unique products across multiple categories, including grocery, meat, produce, deli, bakery, baby, household essentials and personal care. Simple Truth also offers more Fair Trade Certified products than any other private label grocery brand in the country.
With the help of 84.51° insights, Simple Truth® will continue to innovate and introduce new affordable items in 2018 that align with customer trends, including increasingly popular categories like beverage, snacking and non-animal proteins. These growing trends have already inspired the Our Brands innovation team to develop exciting new items like Simple Truth Organic sports drinks, Simple Truth Organic sparkling coconut waters, Simple Truth fruit and nut bars and Simple Truth meatless entrees.
In Kroger's third quarter 2017, Our Brands delivered strong performance, making up 28.2 percent of unit sales and 25.6 percent of sales dollars, excluding fuel and pharmacy. Simple Truth continued to grow in popularity the same quarter, with sales growing 19 percent.
"Our Brands is shaping the way we are redefining the grocery customer experience as outlined in our Restock Kroger plan," Mr. Clark continued.


text:
» Jadwal Liga Super Indonesia 2013
Jadwal Liga Super Indonesia 2013
Jadwal Liga Super Indonesia 2013 on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Friday, April 25, 2014
This time AdmaTechology try to give a brief review of the latest security system from Symantec, Norton Internet Security 2013. What are the advantages? Consider the following reviews.
The main features
Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2013 already have [...]
Promoting tourism and economic development to the outside world with more easily.
Google began to introduce the features of Google Street View in Indonesia after Friday afternoon (11/23) symbolically release two special cars that will record the roads [...]
Theory that claims the existence of super-particles.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland has detected a rare decay of a particle that could undermine the theory of super-symmetry, one of the main theories in physics.
Screen HD 1080p will most likely be a top-class smartphone trend in 2013. Currently the majority of upscale smartphones still use 720p HD display, call it the Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia Lumia 920 or HTC One X +.
A source interviewed by DigiTimes saying [...]
Electronic manufacturer Samsung Electronics continues to seriously working on portable computer market (notebook).
Despite playing for two years, Samsung has dared to issue a premium grade products at affordable prices.
Samsung Notebook Series 5 AMD [...]
Jakarta – Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with its smartphone technological innovation is likely to soon be your handheld.
Because, Samsung Electronics has started pre-orders or reservations for the Galaxy S4 in Indonesia.
Pre-order Samsung Galaxy S4 already [...]
The news about the presence of the successor to the iPhone 5 more widely heard. If previously only known to be released summer of 2013, the latest info mengunkapkan that the smartphone is ready to go July.
Quoted from Techradar, Tuesday (30/4), about [...]
Samsung has finally officially introduced the new members in the family of Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note 8.0.
Quoted from IGN, Monday (2/25), the South Korean manufacturer utilizing the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona February 25 to 28 to show [...]
BlackBerry, the big names who are drowning and trying to get up. Research In Motion (RIM) is ready with a new platform that can be trusted to restore the glory of the BlackBerry.
BlackBerry 10 to be slid January 30, 2013 could be the answer. Just how [...]
Jakarta – Plastic may be a major culprit in the garbage problem in some countries. However, Japan had already found a solution for reducing plastic waste. A Non-Government Organization (NGO) from Japan named Ecoparty come to Indonesia to introduce [...]
Who does not know the game Battlefield series. Games were popular through its multiplayer mode has a slick visual images and an interesting storyline.
According to an official invitation received by Gamespot, Electronic Arts and DICE plans to celebrate [...]


text:
Mail in chaos as postmen strike
Postal services were crippled today as up to 130,000 postmen and women walked out on strike in protest over pay and working conditions.
Pickets were on duty outside the main sorting offices including Mount Pleasant and Nine Elms. Royal Mail managers were called in to keep Crown Post Offices open.
The 24-hour stoppage - the first strike for 11 years - will ruin weekend postal services and have a knockon effect into next week.
Businesses, which make up nine out of 10 Royal Mail customers, suffered major disruption with orders and deliveries lost and delayed. Royal Mail issued a blanket appeal to customers not to post.
Analysts predict the one-day strike will cost the UK economy £25m. And it gives Gordon Brown his first taste, as Prime Minister, of a major public sector dispute.
Leaders of the Communication Workers Union warned of more and longer strikes to come if the dispute is not settled.
CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: 'There has been very strong support for the strike across the country.'
The union has rejected a 2.5% pay offer and says Royal Mail modernisation plans will lead to the loss of 40,000 jobs.
Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier said: 'We will do all we can to mitigate the impact of strike action but we are very disappointed for our customers.'
He insisted the company could not afford to increase pay any further and said the union had failed to grasp the harsh commercial reality that a strike would only benefit rivals.
The Federation of Small Businesses said today: 'A cheque delayed in the post can mean the difference between life and death for a small business.'
Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce, said the strike would cause 'real hardship'.
But James Greenbury, chief executive of rival post firm DX Group, said: 'As the only major competitor with its own independent delivery network for mail, we have received significant interest from customers and new prospects.'
Most watched Money videos
- Take a look at clutter-free EV chargers trialled in London
- Most expensive 1990s car: The McLaren F1 sells for $20m
- Cinematic video of Lamborghini Countach with a top speed of 221mph
- £2M 1980s Lamborghini Countach is back with a top speed of 221mph
- Britain's Garage of the Year 2021 nominee's incredible construction
- Taking a look at the Jaguar XJ220 from all angles on a test drive
- A 'mortgage-free' way for first-time buyers to own their home
- Dacia unveil the Jogger: the UK's least expensive seven-seat car
- Which? finds out if an electric car runs out of battery in traffic
- Rolls-Royce plans to mine on the moon
- 'Like buying it brand new': picking up a bargain at auction
- The Mini Moke: The cute utility vehicle without windows or doors
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.


text:
Transparency: cbdMD seems to be going through a transition with their third-party testing practices. Until recently, they only released a lab report for the CBD concentrate they use for all their products, but would not show potency testing for individual products. That seems to be changing. Currently, the only lab report on the website is for their concentrate (and it’s over a year old). But if you contact customer service, they’ll send you a lab report for any product.
CBD may offer an option for treating different types of chronic pain. A study from the European Journal of Pain showed, using an animal model, CBD applied on the skin could help lower pain and inflammation due to arthritis. Another study demonstrated the mechanism by which CBD inhibits inflammatory and neuropathic pain, two of the most difficult types of chronic pain to treat. More study in humans is needed in this area to substantiate the claims of CBD proponents about pain control.


text:
Up until recently, the notion of a smart home had been a sci-fi fantasy, with tech enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the day their kitchens or living rooms resemble the deck of the Starship Enterprise. To the joy of many, 2017 was labeled “The Year of the Smart Home,” when smart home products that had, up until this point, been popular with niche tech groups and the early adopter crowd would finally make it big in the mainstream market. The year began with an abundance of connected, “smart things” at CES in January – from washer/dryer units and refrigerators, to security cameras and thermostats – many of which incorporated built-in Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice control capabilities. But overall, how did smart home products live up to the hype in 2017?
It was the introduction of the Amazon Echo Smart Speaker back in 2014 that triggered interest in mainstream smart home gadgets. For the first time, the market had an inexpensive, easy-to-use, beneficial smart product everyone in the home could enjoy. Since then, tech companies and manufacturers have been playing “catch up,” some fairly successfully, like Google, and others…not so much. With the introduction and influx of smart speakers, other connected products, like Philips Hue Smart Lighting, have gained popularity because they serve as perfect additions to the Echo connected things ecosystem. And, thanks to Amazon’s Echo, voice control has now become the key remote interface within the home.
Media research group, Kagan, reports that the number of smart homes in the U.S. grew to over 15 million by the end of last year, which equated to about 12.5% of all U.S. households. According to another report, 26.5% of all U.S. households in 2017 now have at least one smart home product.
However, in 2017, consumers are still skeptical about the security of these pricey gadgets. And in a year full of cyber-security disasters, homeowners are growing more anxious about the safety of these products, with a common fear amongst consumers being that intelligent alarm systems and locks can be easily hacked by intruders and that smart TVs and speakers will spy or eavesdrop on unsuspecting users. But according to Business Insider, 2017 smart home adoption problems don’t stem from security issues, but rather, from issues that have plagued these products since the get-go: “high prices, technological fragmentation, and consumers’ lack of a perceived benefit from the devices.”
Although prices are steadily dropping, there hasn’t been a strong enough demand for these products to justify the cost. Consumer awareness of the value of smart home products is helping somewhat, but there are plenty of challenges still facing these device brands and manufacturers, such as interoperability issues, security, and overall usability. In 2017, the connected living expanded significantly, and in 2018, it’s expected to continue to grow steadily in the U.S., driven by an expanding number of connected, smart devices in the market.


text:
Sales are up 46 percent through the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year, the privately held Chicago company said in a press release.
And Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet’s sales so far this year are on track to beat 2008 sales, which were its best on record.
The company, which purchased the former Kalamazoo Grill Co. in 2005, still manufacturers its grills and other outdoor kitchen equipment in Kalamazoo.
While overall consumer confidence may be weak as unemployment remains high across the country, people who can afford to spend $50,000 or more on an outdoor kitchen are buying, said Pete Georgiadis, the company’s president.
But, Georgiadis said, the key is the purchase has to been seen as an investment, not as frivolous spending.
“At the high end of the market, consumers are being mindful of their money,” Georgiadis said. “They are making purchases that have the ability to add enduring value to both their home and their lifestyle,”
The privately held company doesn’t release specific sales figures.
Georgiadis said the company is not only winning more customers, but those customers are also spending more money on the outdoor kitchens, which are defined as a grill plus three other components, such as watertight cabinets, outdoor refrigerators and warming ovens.
Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet also doesn’t release how many employees it has. But Georgiadis said his company so far this year has increased its Kalamazoo work force by 20 percent.
“We expect to add employees in Kalamazoo,” he said. “I expect as the business continues to grow next year we’ll continue to add (workers).”
Contact Alex Nixon at email@example.com or 269-388-2783.


text:
YANGON, Myanmar—Four years after the U.S. started lifting its sanctions on Myanmar, those that remain are crimping the scope of American companies to do business here, even as the first democratically elected president in over half a century prepares to take office.
A few American brands are managing to find their way into the country, including fried-chicken outfit KFC, which is among the first tenants at Yangon’s shiny new international airport terminal—built by a company on the U.S. blacklist.
GoPro Accessories Savings - 40% off HERO8 Black Media Mod
30% off smartphones + free shipping - Samsung promo code
Save up to 30% + free shipping with Dell coupons
HP student discount - up to 35% Off
Get 10% OFF with Newegg coupon code
TigerDirect coupon code - 10% off first order


text:
Chinese battery and vehicle manufacturer BYD had a net profit of 1.66 billion yuan (roughly 242 million U.S. dollars) for the first half of 2020. The net profit rose 14.29 percent over the same period in 2019.
Through June 30, BYD had revenue of 60.5 billion yuan, down 2.7 percent year on year, according to BYD’s financial report filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Despite the global pandemic, BYD projects 2.8 billion yuan to 3 billion yuan of net profit in the first three quarters of this year, which would be an increase of 77.86 percent to 90.56 percent from the same period of 2019.
BYD and Berkshire Hathaway
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $230 million has grown in value almost twenty-fold.
For More on BYD, read the Special Report: BYD, Berkshire’s Tesla.
© 2020 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.


text:
Canowindra farmer wins
inaugural organics gong
CANOWINDRA farmer, Sam Statham, has taken out the inaugural 2012 New South Wales Organic Pioneers Award.
“Sam first started growing grapes and olives organically in 1997 and is now widely respected in organic industry circles right across Australia,” says Department of Primary Industries acting skills and communities director, John Newcombe.
“Sam is a trailblazer in the organics industry and has made a significant contribution to the development of the rapidly growing sector.
“Sam’s family business Rosnay is a certified organic farm producing winegrapes, olives and figs as-well-as value-added products such as olive paste, fig preserve and award-winning wines.
“Sam founded the Australia-New Zealand Organic Wine Show and previously chaired the Vignerons Committee of the Biological Farmers of Australia.
“Sam will receive a $6000 travel bursary to investigate other organic enterprises or research facilities and continue his great work in the industry.”
Mr Newcombe says the judges had a tough task in awarding the winner and described all entrants as exceptional.
“Congratulations to all entrants and in particular our other finalists which included Rob Fenton, a TAFE teacher from Albury, and Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane, market gardeners from Gundaroo near Canberra,” says Mr Newcombe.
“The strength of the entries is a clear indication of how the sector has grown and transformed into a sophisticated $504 million industry nationally.
“Over one million hectares of land in NSW is now certified as organic and the industry employs an estimated 25,000 people nationally.
“NSW has the largest number of certified organic producers and is home to 43 per cent of Australia’s organic vegetable farmers and 37 per cent of Australia’s fruit producers,” Mr Newcombe says.


text:
'Brass Tactics' is a VR RTS that puts you in a clockwork battlefield
Gameplay is wonderfully chaotic.
Oculus shows off upcoming VR titles at GDC 2017
They run the gamut from first-person shooters to tabletop real-time strategy games.
We're live from GDC 2017 in San Francisco!
Expect to see a vast amount of AR and VR news.
LG is working on a VR headset with Valve
LG is the first company besides HTC to use Valve's SteamVR tracking technology.
HTC's Vive Tracker and Deluxe Audio Strap cost $100 each
The Tracker goes on sale March 27th while Strap pre-orders start May 2nd.
Indie devs with disabilities win full ride on Train Jam to GDC
AbleGamers are on a mission to make video games accessible to all.
Devolver will highlight games from banned nations at GDC
The publisher's open call needs to be echoed by the industry.
Indie game award finalists include 'Hyper Light Drifter' and 'Inside'
The Game Developers Choice awards also have their frontrunners.
GDC will host its own video game art gallery next year
Art Boss is a collaboration between the event and iam8bit, the company responsible for all those game soundtracks on vinyl.


text:
Forbes once quoted Byju Raveendran saying, “This is not a business which I started as a business. It’s a passion which ended up becoming a business.” Today, his passion has made him one of youngest billionaires in India. And his company is considered to be one of the world’s most valuable ed-tech startups. We’re talking about the online learning platform, Byju’s that was recently in news for acquiring WhiteHat Jr, a coding startup, for ₹2,246 crore in an all-cash deal.
In 2019, Byju Raveendran made his debut into the Forbes Rich List, becoming one of India’s youngest self-made billionaires to achieve this feat. And like most success stories, his journey was also a remarkable one, to say the least. Hailing from Azhikode, Byju Raveendran was an engineer by profession, before he started helping his friends crack the entrance exams for the IIMs, according to a report in the Economic Times.
Interestingly, a report in Business Insider states that he once gave the CAT (Common Admission Test) for fun and scored 100 percentile. However, he didn’t join any of the prestigious management institutes.
In 2011, Byju Raveendran founded an online teaching firm under Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, with an aim to make learning and education interesting for K-12 segment, ie, for students from the kindergarten to grade twelfth. In 2015, he launched the Byju’s mobile app. Fast-forward five years and today, his start-up has achieved the coveted decacorn status and is valued at an estimate of $10.5 billion, as per a Forbes report published in June, 2020. With Shah Rukh Khan as the brand endorser, the app today reaches over 57 million students across India (as per the same report).
With its presence also in the Middle East, Byju’s now aims to expand to the US, UK, South Africa and other African and Commonwealth countries, according to the Economic Times.
In 2019, when he made his way into Forbes Rich List, his net worth was at $1.91 billion. However, as Byju’s revenue and value continue to grow exponentially, the founder’s net worth is also soaring to new heights. His current net worth as of August 13, 2020, stands at $2.3 billion (₹17,207 crore approximately), according to Forbes.
> More on Get Smart


text:
A Star Wars 1313 gameplay trailer has surfaced, and while it doesn't go in to much detail on when the game will be released or on what platforms, it certainly looks very cool
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
Star wars 1313
We got to see an early demo of LucasArts' Star Wars 1313 at E3 2012 this week, but we also learned the demo of the game may not look completely like the final product.
LucasArts has announced plans to release a new Star Wars game, titled Star Wars 1313. Details are scarce but more information is expected to be revealed at E3 2012 next week.


text:
In what could be a nasty spat Microsoft is set to take on Apple in a battle aimed at knocking a dent in iPod sales and iTunes.
Microsoft is preparing to wage a high-stakes battle against Apple and its iPod digital music player, a move that could bring to mind the battle between the tech giant’s Xbox video game console and Sony’s PlayStation.
Microsoft is quietly laying the groundwork to launch its own digital music player and music service that would rival the iPod and the popular iTunes music service, according to multiple sources close to the major record labels.
According to these sources, Microsoft has quietly restarted licensing talks as a precursor to launching its own digital music store.
Last year, Microsoft ended such talks with the record labels and temporarily shelved plans to launch its own music store. More recently, Microsoft partnered with MTV to launch Urge, a subscription music service.
At the same time, Microsoft executives have begun making the rounds of the music companies to demonstrate its own digital music player – the existence of which Microsoft executives have never publicly acknowledged.
Sources say the device plays both video and MP3s, and some who have seen it say the quality of the video surpasses that of the video iPod.
“It seems like an exact head-to-head competition with Apple,” said one source. “It’s really like an Apple approach, to control the device and the whole stack of technology. This is like Xbox versus PlayStation.”
Sources describe Microsoft’s latest strategy for digital music as a reversal of its previous plans, which called for partnering with technology companies and opening up any digital music service to a variety of devices.
While previous talk centered on Microsoft offering a subscription music service, the company is now focused more on offering a music service that replicates the iTunes model of selling individual songs for download, according to a source.
“But there may be a subscription component,” said this person.
In recent weeks, Microsoft shot down rumors that it had partnered with several consumer electronics companies in Japan to launch an iPod rival.
In public settings, Microsoft execs have been coy about rumored plans to take on the iPod.
At a recent conference hosted by The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates reportedly said, “There is such a rumor,” when asked whether the company plans to roll out a digital music player.
Apple, meanwhile, is fresh from its victory over the music labels in its recent round of licensing talks. Apple succeeded in denying the labels’ wish for variable pricing, and the current standard of 99 cents per track remains in place.


text:
According to recent reports, Comcast is planning to allow non-customers to access its new Xfinity Stream service in the near future. The service will cost $15 a month and be available to users of other ISPs (as well as those who have no ISP connection) who live within reach of Comcast’s footprint, as long as they purchase a Comcast gateway modem. The company said that it is working to make the equipment widely available before the end of this year.
“Stream is a cable service like our others, just to different devices rather than a TV. What the new gateway will really do is allow someone without Comcast (or any) Internet service to get Stream TV,” a Comcast spokesperson said. Xfinity Stream features local broadcast stations, along with HBO, and is targeted at younger consumers who have not yet joined the pay-TV fray. The service will launch first in parts of several states before going to a wider release later this year.


text:
ISLAMABAD, Aug 28 (APP):Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul Tuesday expressed his strong resolve for enhancing bilateral annual trade between the two countries to $ 10 billion.
Addressing business community here at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the ambassador said with stronger efforts from both sides the annual trade volume could be raised up to $10 billion.
He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a great project for Pakistan, however, the Turkish investors were not fully aware about the business prospects in that regard. The Pakistan Business Council, FPCCI and chambers of commerce should inform the Turkish investors about the potential opportunities of joint ventures (JVs) and investment in CPEC so that they could take benefit of thoem, he added.
He said the new government of Pakistan had priority focus on building low-cost houses in the country and Turkey with good expertise in building such houses could help it realize that goal.
The envoy expressed the hope that the current leadership of Turkey and Pakistan would finalize free trade agreement that would give boost to bilateral trade between the two countries.
Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul said the Turkish companies had invested $2 billion in Pakistan and more could come if apprised of the potential business prospects. He assured that he would help promote Pakistan’s business interests in his country.
He appreciated the ICCI for holding a business opportunities conference in Turkey in the last week of June 2018, saying he was receiving positive feedback from Turkish businessmen about the event.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Sheikh Amir Waheed said Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed historic cordial relations that should be transformed into growing trade and economic relations.
He said Pakistan and Turkey were doing trade in limited items and they should focus on diversification of trade to achieve better results. Both the countries should develop direct road and railway links that would help in improving trade volume, he added.
The ICCI chief identified tourism, information technology, food processing, agro-based industry, dairy development, furniture industry, hospitality, construction and resorts development as potential areas for JVs and investment for Turkish investors in Pakistan.
He assured that the ICCI would work with the Turkish Embassy for bringing private sectors of both the countries closer for trade promotion.


text:
The Department of Energy has granted a $197 million loan guarantee to SoloPower for the building of a thin-film solar panel manufacturing facility in Wilsonville, Ore.
This marks a big win for SoloPower, which is coming off several weeks of progress related to the plant. In January, the company raised $51 million in a fourth round of funding, then announced the Oregon Department of Energy granted it a $20 million loan. It also shows the potential for future successes in CIGS technology, named for its ingredients of copper, indium, gallium and selenide. One of SoloPower’s flexible CIGS panels is shown below.
The funds will go towards retrofitting an existing building and purchasing equipment for a $340 million facility with an annual capacity of 400 megawatts, according to the announcement today. However, a SoloPower statement last month said the plant would have a capacity of 300 megawatts — we’ve contacted SoloPower’s representatives to clear up the discrepancy and will update the story once we hear back. (Update: From company spokeswoman Julie Lydon: “The 400 megawatt number is correct. Before, we were being conservative. We’re building four 75-megawatt lines in the facility and we have efficiencies that will enable us to produce 100 megawatts off of each line.”)
Currently, the most common solar photovoltaic technology is crystalline silicon, but Chinese companies have recently taken an edge in that area, driving prices down across the board. Thin-film solar companies have lower efficiency rates and seemed to struggle last year in some high-profile ways, like the closure of Solyndra’s first facility and the shutdown of Applied Materials and Suntech’s thin-film solar lines. The one exception is industry leader First Solar, a well-respected behemoth maker of cadmium telluride thin-film panels at low costs.
However, thin-film panels have seen a resurgence lately, with SoloPower, Stion and AQT all announcing plans for new factories, and CIGS technology in particular looks promising. Its efficiency rates are in the mid- to high teens — nearing 20 percent — which make them more comparable to crystalline silicon (20 to 25 percent) than other thin film technologies, which have efficiency rates around 11 percent.
“CIGS are the real up and comer,” says Matt Feinstein, an analyst for Lux Research. “Their costs are going to fall very dramatically. We’re starting to see them get more mature.”
They also have the potential to be sputtered onto flexible materials and even integrated into buildings. SoloPower will be one of the first companies to test developers’ appetites for flexible CIGS, and whether customers be willing to consider paying a premium for flexible CIGS panels. While CIGS technology is generally considered bankable, the technology is still new compared to crystalline silicon, so companies will have to demonstrate bankability of their panels and prove they can last for about 25 years in real-world conditions.
SoloPower says its secret sauce is a low-cost, highly efficient electroplating manufacturing process. Its manufacturing process works by depositing copper, indium, gallium and selenide on rolls of flexible stainless steel materials and transforms them into flexible modules. According to the DOE, that allows the company to improve module size and weight, ease of installation, and reduces mounting hardware.
The SoloPower plant’s first phase of construction will cover a 75-megawatt manufacturing line and create 170 jobs, the company said. The final facility will produce 500 permanent jobs.
[Top image via Flickr/Roberto Verzo]


text:
With the recent massive shift to e-commerce, logistics innovations will also experience an increase to support e-commerce transactions in the years ahead.
In light of the upheaval due to the pandemic, it comes as no surprise that online interactions jumped from 42% in 2019 to 60% in 2020. Virtually all product and service companies worldwide have been forced to transform their business models to one that includes e-commerce, but many are still struggling with logistics issues.
With the role of facilitating the stable and timely delivery of products to customers, logistics innovations are also set to improve e-commerce in the years ahead. These innovations in logistics are just some that are demonstrating how they will better support e-commerce in 2021.
Regardless of industry, e-commerce is the way of the future, and whether it’s shipment quotes, discounts, fulfillment, transportation, or QR logging, logistics innovations will remain an essential enabler.
Logmore’s logistics solution helps companies solve e-commerce logistics challenges. This innovative Quick Response (QR) data logging solution tracks, analyzes, and reports the condition of products during transit.
Supply chain personnel can scan QR codes using a connected smartphone, then during transit, critical condition-specific data, such as location, humidity, temperature, or light is synchronized with the data system and displayed. In contrast to Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Logmore is built to stand up to international shipping and can even scan damaged or unclean QR codes. Through Logmore’s API, e-commerce supply chain companies can also build their own quality assurance apps.
Read full article at TechRepublic


text:
New Jersey Governor Says New York’s Amazon Loss Should Be Newark’s Gain
(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy urged Amazon.com Inc. to reconsider Newark as a headquarters location after the company said it was pulling out of a plan to build in New York City.
“After learning of the decision to pull out of their chosen location, I contacted Amazon and City of Newark stakeholders directly, continuing a constant dialogue that predates my time as governor,” Murphy, a first-term Democrat, said in a statement. “New Jersey is open for business, and now more than ever, Newark is the clear choice as the next presence for Amazon corporate offices. Amazon now has the opportunity to join in Newark’s story of a city on the rise.”
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.


text:
StudyBlue is an online and mobile education company that has raised $9 million in Series A-1 funding. This round of funding was led by Great Oaks Venture Capital with participation from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Existing investors in the company also participated in this round. StudyBlue has a social studying platform that works on mobile devices. There are over 2.5 million students on the platform that have shared 100 million study materials on the web, iPhone, iPad, and Android.
StudyBlue CEO Becky Splitt said that the company is growing rapidly. The company plans on using the funding to expand their community and platform so that students will understand the material faster. StudyBlue says that the company has the ?largest and fastest growing library of student generated study materials? that is available for higher education. The company has over 100 million items that range between anthropology and zoology.
StudyBlue is not considered an e-book platform or a teaching tool. Students are able to create and organize materials digitally using the platform. A lot of the material from StudyBlue comes directly from students. Teachers can add and join materials to integrate their own lessons into the platform.
StudyBlue said that students shares information about themselves like the school, professor, or class. Notifications can be distributed when a new classmate or study material is added.
StudyBlue has raised a total of $14.8 million in funding. The company makes money using a “freemium” model that leverages ad revenue and premium subscriptions. The functionality is free for anyone. Subscription fees are used for advanced functionality like equation editors, advanced search filters, and ad removal.


text:
Ford has unveiled the new facelifted 2015 Focus hatchback at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The American manufacturer had released the first images of the hatchback and the estate version of the car, yesterday. The car will also be showcased at 2014 Geneva Motor Show and will go on sale in the UK market around June. Being just a facelift, the new car retains the dimensions and underpinnings while incorporating several cosmetic changes, better interiors, new engines as well as new technology.
The new Focus carries a fresh look, along the lines of the new range of Ford cars like the Fusion and the soon-to-be-launched Mondeo. Speaking about the design, Martin Smith, executive design director, Ford Europe, said, “The vision was to add more emotion to the design of the Focus. The new Focus is more toned, and more athletic, with more refined surface language; and clearly offers a promise of the drive experience to come.”
The front of the car features a six-point grille with sharper and slimmer headlamps, a new bumper and a redesigned hood. The rear of the car houses thinner lights with redesigned graphics, as well as a new bumper and tailgate. Bi-Xenon adaptive headlamps will be offered as an option for the first time.
More updates can be seen inside the car which includes a new center console which is adorned by a black satin trim with chrome detailing for the dashboard and door trims. Ford claims that denser carpets, thicker side window glass and enhanced engine insulation have improved noise insulation of the car. For a better ride, Ford has revamped the car with a stiffer front end, reworked suspension and shock absorbers, Electric Power Assist Steering and a new ESP system.
Ford has also retuned the engines in the car. The updated powertrain lineup now includes a new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine available in two guises, a 148bhp and 178bhp while the new 1.5-litre TDCi diesel engine is also offered in two versions, 94bhp and 118bhp. A new version of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost will also be offered in the US markets. The optional Getrag-developed six-speed, double-clutch PowerShift semi-automatic gearbox will transmit the power to the front wheels.
Ford hasn’t announced specs or pricing of the C-segment car though it’s unlikely to deviate much from its current GBP 14,000 (Rs 14.2 lakh) to GBP 33,000 (Rs 33.5 lakh) price bracket. We can expect further details to be revealed at the 84th Geneva Motor Show, next month.


text:
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee on Friday referred to as on Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief govt, to testify earlier than Congress, in a significant escalation of its investigation into the nation’s largest expertise corporations.
Mr. Bezos, the world’s richest particular person, is the highest-profile govt referred to as to testify as half of the antitrust investigation. A listening to would permit lawmakers to query him about accusations that Amazon abuses it market energy in on-line retail, mistreats warehouse staff and hurts small companies.
Many different tech leaders, together with Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google, have appeared earlier than Congress lately, answering questions beneath oath on points like privateness and the unfold of disinformation. Mr. Bezos has not but endured the identical highlight.
The Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee has for months been investigating the facility of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple. Last 12 months, lawmakers requested a slew of inner paperwork from the businesses, together with emails between prime executives. The transfer on Friday, written in a letter to Mr. Bezos, is an indication that the inquiry has not stopped as a result of of the coronavirus pandemic.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by the Democratic chairman of the committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, threatened to use its energy to legally compel Mr. Bezos to testify if he didn’t achieve this willingly, a severe step in any congressional investigation.
“Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to compulsory process if necessary,” the lawmakers wrote to Mr. Bezos.
Amazon didn’t remark on Friday on his plans.
Mr. Bezos has historically relied on his deputies, like Jay Carney, a former White House press secretary, to work together with policymakers. He has performed few in-depth interviews about Amazon lately. But he has made strikes towards turning into a higher presence in Washington.
He purchased The Washington Post in 2013, and retains a house within the metropolis’s upscale Kalorama neighborhood. He hosted an after-party for the annual Alfalfa Club dinner this 12 months at his mansion, drawing enterprise and political leaders.
President Trump has incessantly focused Mr. Bezos with criticism and tried to hyperlink Amazon to The Post when attacking the paper. (The publication is owned by Mr. Bezos personally and has no company relationship with Amazon.)
In the autumn, the Pentagon awarded a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft over Amazon’s rival bid; Amazon has sued, saying Mr. Trump’s antagonism was an element.
In current months, the lawmakers talked to Amazon about summoning Mr. Bezos to Capitol Hill, in accordance to two individuals accustomed to the discussions, who would communicate solely anonymously as a result of the talks have been personal. But Amazon has resisted the efforts, the individuals stated.
Last week, an article in The Wall Street Journal detailed how Amazon employees had used data from third-party sellers to hone the company’s private label offerings, potentially contradicting an Amazon lawyer’s testimony to the committee last year. The lawmakers said in their letter that if the “article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the committee about the company’s business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious.”
Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, said in a statement that “we strictly prohibit employees from using nonpublic, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch.”
“While we don’t believe these claims made by The Wall Street Journal are accurate,” Mr. Herdener added, “we take these allegations very seriously and have launched an internal investigation.”
So far, the antitrust investigations have been largely a bipartisan affair. But there are signs that is changing. A few Republicans on the committee signed the letter, though Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who just took over as the panel’s top Republican, did not.
Russell Dye, a spokesman for the committee’s Republicans, said that “our members have questions for Amazon and want to get answers for the American people,” but that “we wonder what Judiciary Democrats’ true motivations are.”
Mr. Dye said Democrats had argued this year that “companies like Amazon should not exist and should be broken up simply because they are large successful businesses.”
At a fund-raiser this year, Mr. Nadler made comments about breaking big companies, drawing condemnation from Republicans on the committee, who complained the remarks suggested that the investigation had a predetermined outcome. Several prominent liberals, including Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have criticized the company’s power and reach, including during their presidential campaigns.
It is not clear exactly when Mr. Bezos would appear, as Congress has curtailed its usual business during the pandemic.
The public has increasingly turned to Amazon’s online store during the pandemic. Millions of homebound Americans have used the company’s delivery service to order food and other essential items, pushing its network of warehouses to its limits. From his Texas ranch, Mr. Bezos has spent most of his time managing the company’s response to the virus.
But Amazon’s critics have seized on this moment as well. This growing coalition of workers, activists and lawmakers says the company has not done enough to protect its front-line workers, calling on the company to offer hazard pay and to better communicate with warehouse staff.
In the financial report on Thursday, Mr. Bezos said the company planned to spend $4 billion or more in the next quarter “on Covid-related expenses getting products to customers and keeping employees safe.” He said those costs could mean that the company would have no profit.
Some of the company’s critics applauded the lawmakers’ move on Friday.
“Amazon often acts as though it’s above the law,” Stacy Mitchell, a co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and a longtime critic of the company, said in a statement. “Today, the House Judiciary Committee firmly demonstrated that it’s not.”


text:
Will banks take the lead in a global identity ecosystem?
Tuesday 02 March 2021 by Laura Camplisson
In today’s world the need for trusted, secure & seamless digital identity solutions is something most organisations can no longer ignore. As physical becomes digital, citizens, consumers and employees, are carrying out a growing number of complex interactions and transactions. On more and more occasions individuals must prove their identity digitally, when engaging with service
Tagged under: #FTTIdentity21, Authentication, digital identity, financial services, fintech ecosystem, innovation, Splash, Technology
Devie Mohan: the evolution and impact of fintech
Friday 02 February 2018 by FTT Team
We talk to Devie Mohan, Co-Founder and CEO of Burnmark about the evolution of fintech, its impact on financial services, and attracting tech talent.
- Published in Fintech
Tagged under: digital skills, fintech ecosystem, london fintechs, Splash


text:
If you're looking for a new board, appreciate signatures from professional surfers, and willingly drop large sums of money to support the livelihood of breasts, then we've got something right up your alley: Julian Wilson's board from the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.
Hot off the eBay press, Julian Wilson has opened auction on one of the pink boards that survived his boardicidal performance (he broke like six boards in three days) at Snapper Rock last week in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment.
The board is signed by Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Jordy Smith, Steph Gilmore, and the rest of the celebrity surf world; it just needs a new owner. As of press time, the board's going for for $406 AU ($268.36 US), which could be a steal. The auction ends March 25, 2009 so shoot your electronic paddle skyward and place a bid now.
All proceeds go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.


text:
Elon Musk Prepared To Charge All Users To Use X (Twitter) As “Only Way” To Combat Bots
19 Sep 2023
Elon Musk has alluded that he is prepared to charge all users to have access to his X, formerly Twitter, platform.
During a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday the Tesla CEO alluded to controversial plan for the social media platform.
The revelation came when Netanyahu asked Musk how X could prevent the use of bots in the amplification of anti-semitism.
Musk responded by saying that the company was “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system” claiming it was “the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,”
“Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny – call it a tenth of a penny – but if somebody even has to pay a few dollars, some minor amount, the effective cost of bots is very high,”
“And then you also have to get a new payment method every time you have a new bot.”
Currently X offers their premium subscription programme for £11 per month or £114.99 annually.
Users of the premium service receive a verified tick alongside the ability to edit tweets and post longer messages.


text:
Shares of Groupon fell below $3 a share for the first time in early trading Friday following the company's disappointing earnings report.
Groupon reported a net loss of $2.98 million — breaking even on a per share basis — on revenues of $568.6 million, missing Wall Street's estimates for earnings of $0.03 per share on revenue of $591 million. The company also announced that it laid off 80 employees from its sales department — a small fraction of its total staff of more than 10,000 — in an effort to begin cutting costs.
The stock closed at $3.92 Thursday and declined by more than 20% in pre-market trading before opening at $3.01 a share Friday. The stock quickly dropped to $2.99 a share and was hovering around the $3 mark as of publication.
Even before the earnings report, Groupon's stock had been plagued in recent weeks by concerns that Hurricane Sandy would impact sales from the company's vendors and renewed doubts about the viability of the daily deals industry after Amazon revealed it was taking a big loss for its stake in LivingSocial.
Groupon went public at $20 a share and has since seen its stock price decline of about 85%. The company's market cap is now just more than $2.5 billion, less than half what Google was rumored to be willing to pay for the daily deals site in late 2010.
Image courtesy of Flickr, TechCrunch


text:
Maksim Shebeko - stock.adobe.com
Pizza chain Papa John’s International is expanding a technology tie-up with Google Cloud that will see it migrate more workloads off-premise in response to the surging consumer demand for online orders.
There are Papa John’s franchises in 5,000 locations in 45 countries and territories across the world, and over the course of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic they have seen a surge in demand for online orders and delivery services.
In response to this, the company has decided to accelerate the pace of its cloud strategy, while also plotting plans to dig deeper into the Google Cloud product portfolio in an effort to improve the ordering experience for its customers.
“Google Cloud continues to be a strategic and trusted partner in supporting our best-in-class digital platforms, particularly as we’ve experienced tremendous growth in consumer demand over the past year,” said Papa John’s International chief technology officer Justin Falciola.
“As one of the largest pizza delivery brands in the world, innovative technology is an essential component of our business model, allowing us to create great customer experiences and increase efficiencies throughout our restaurant operations,” he said.
“Migrating and transforming our infrastructure capabilities to Google Cloud will increase our speed to value for Papa John’s digital, restaurant, and corporate solutions, ultimately delivering the best experience for our customers and our team members.”
As well as moving its on-premise datacentre workloads to the Google Cloud, the company has also committed to shifting away from its own mapping systems and onto the Google Maps Platform so that it can provide customers with real-time tracking data about the status of their deliveries.
Read more about cloud customer wins
- Ikea Retail CDO Barbara Martin Coppola tells us how cloud technologies have helped the company adapt to the rapid changes in consumer behaviour brought about by the pandemic.
- Financial services giant Standard Chartered is forging even deeper ties with AWS as part of its push to roll out more personalised banking experiences to customers in 60 countries.
Google Cloud described its expanded partnership with Papa John’s as the next part in a multi-phase body of work that is geared towards helping the firm optimise its application engineering, business operations and customer experience.
To this point, the cloud giant confirmed that Papa John’s already makes use of “several key Google Cloud technologies”, including its CloudSQL database, its Bigtable NoSQL database offering, and its cloud data warehousing tool, BigQuery.
“Papa John’s is using these products to build its loyalty program, multi-channel marketing platform, eCommerce, in-store, and various other customer touchpoints, including its award-winning mobile apps,” said Google Cloud, in a statement.
“Over the past year, retail and food services have had to adapt and shift their business strategies to a digital-first approach,” said Google Cloud vice-president of retail and consumer Carrie Tharp.
“We’re in the business of helping our customers remain resilient and agile using cloud technologies, and we’re proud of the work we’re doing with Papa John’s, so it can remain focused on achieving its business goals.”